How to Build Competent People – Fast

The Big Crew Change is no longer just a prediction of a looming exodus of experience. It’s happening. And while the industry is losing experience, it is gaining talent and energy from all the younger professionals. In five years, or maybe less, the industry will have ‘flipped’ from one full of ‘old guys’, to a completely different demographic of mostly younger professionals. It’s time to be sure that we hand over the know-how to this, the world’s biggest industry, to these young professionals – and let them carry it forward. We don’t have much time.

Learn more. Go farther.

The years just ahead offer terrific opportunity for petroleum professionals in the early stages of their careers. With the Big Crew Change upon us, thousands of senior-level professionals will soon retire. Early- and mid-career professionals will rise to fill their ranks – and the greatest gains will go to those with the greatest talent and drive to seize the opportunity.
One of the most important steps you can take to propel your career is to improve your technical knowledge and skills, and broaden your perspective.
But it’s not just about “taking courses.” I can tell you, based on my diverse and exciting experiences over a long career, that the courses you choose – and the organization that provides them – make all the difference.

The Difference Between “Good” and “Bad” Teachers

What’s the difference between a “good” teacher and a “bad” teacher, between a great learning experience and a bore? Intuitively, we all know the difference. Bad teachers are dull and uninspiring. Their lectures drone on and on, and before long it’s a struggle just to stay awake. I had an English professor once who so inspired me that I spent time in the library expanding my knowledge of the literature we were discussing. Making an “A” in his class was easy.

Engineering, Art and the Value of Learning

After devoting 39 years to drilling operations and research for Exxon – and then another 20 years consulting and teaching drilling for OGCI/PetroSkills – you’d think I’d be ready for something else. But to me, drilling seems as fascinating today as was the day I visited my first drilling rig...

Refreshing courses 20% each year – to stay 100% relevant.

As the technical training manager for Mobil Oil, I hired world authorities on many subjects to teach our employees. Over the years, as we monitored course evaluations, I learned that it takes more than just a world class reputation to provide a valuable learning experience. Unless you refresh the content of a course regularly, it will go stale very quickly – regardless of who’s teaching it. As technology advances, the course has to keep up to remain relevant.

Earning Versus Learning

Drilling and development decisions often involve high levels of uncertainty about various geologic parameters. The industry has become adept at addressing these uncertainties in prioritizing drilling decisions based on expected monetary values (the “Earning” part). Early wells are typically those with high expected monetary values, ideally some combination of lower cost, higher success value, and higher chance of success. What is often overlooked, however, is the value of the information learned for properly sequencing the wells (the “Learning” part).

PetroSkills offers 14 new courses for 2013.

PetroSkills has announced that 14 new courses will be available worldwide, for public and in-house instruction, in 2013. The new courses add to the catalog of courses already available in disciplines including Geology, Refining, Instrumentation, Gas Processing, Project Management, Professional Development, and Data Management...

Come see us at these conventions in 2013.

PetroSkills will be attending the following conferences in 2013. As always, these events give us a wonderful opportunity way to speak with industry professionals, hear feedback, discuss solutions, network, and identify the best ways to work together to improve competency for you and your organization.

PetroSkills Acquires John M. Campbell & Company

PetroSkills announced today that it has acquired the training and consulting businesses of John M. Campbell & Company (JMC) of Norman, Oklahoma. PetroSkills and JMC are both members of the PetroSkills Alliance, the leading training alliance for the international petroleum industry with 25 industry members.